Lauence Rosenthal wrote nearly
two hours of music for the ambitious television mini-series George
Washington. Most of it is included in this 2-CD set, marking the first ever
release of this rich and varied soundtrack, scored for large orchestra.

To present the score on CD, we were able to locate a portion of the
score on ¼” 15 ips full track (mono) reels vaulted in excellent condition at
MGM. For the remainder of the score, we turned to the composer’s own
¼” copy of the score, transferred by MGM engineers after the recording
sessions in its entirety but at the slower tape speed of 7 ½ ips. There is
some hiss evident throughout, and minor distortion appears in select
loud passages. The audio anomalies are generally not intrusive to the listening
experience, however. Without these mono ¼” transfers, however,
an album of the score would not be possible.

The composer attended the album editing sessions and elected
to present the music in a sequence altered from the picture itself.
While the album follows the overall film narrative, hitting numerous
milestones in American history during the Revolutionary War, this sequence allows for a better flow and
variety of the numerous musical themes and motifs. The only cues not included were tiny fragments, repeated
segments, brief transitions, various bumpers and similar items that are thematically covered in longer
cues elsewhere. The opening main title is included as part of the “Overture”. A second main title was recorded
for part two of the mini-series, consisting of the same material but given a slightly different reading.
That version opens the second CD of this set. And the rest, as they say, is history!

—Douglass Fake

Conducted and Composed by Laurence Rosenthal.

Recorded in February and March, 1984, at MGM Studios Scoring Stage, Culver City, California.